President Donald Trump cannot fire Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook for unproven allegations of mortgage fraud, the Supreme Court narrowly decided in a 5-4 interim ruling issued Monday.

“Only after Cook has had the opportunity to respond to the charges made against her may a final decision be made,” said Chief Justice John Roberts, writing the majority opinion.

Federal Reserve governors serve 14-year terms and are only able to be removed for cause.

“The Supreme Court’s decision to leave the lower court’s order in place and affirm the need for real process and real cause recognizes that Federal Reserve independence is essential to fulfilling the congressional mandate of price stability and maximum employment,” Cook said in a statement shared with Scotsman Guide.

Cook added: “This was never about mortgage documents signed years before I became a Federal Reserve governor. It was an attempt to remove me on a manufactured pretext because I refused to bow to political pressure and continued to set interest rates based only on what would best serve the American people.”

Trump attempted to fire Cook last August after Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte made a criminal referral against Cook to the Department of Justice, alleging mortgage fraud. Recently named acting director of national intelligence, Pulte is currently being investigated by a congressional watchdog for his handling of a series of mortgage fraud referrals.

The president responded to the ruling on the social media platform Truth Social shortly after the decision was handed down.

“The Cook Lawsuit, having to do with her suitability in sitting on the Board of the Federal Reserve, was sent back by the Supreme Court on a strictly procedural basis,” Trump wrote. “We will take appropriate action immediately to make sure that someone who has committed wrongdoing will not be making vital decisions concerning the Welfare of the United States of America!”

Cook, the first Black woman to serve on the Fed’s board, was nominated by President Joe Biden in 2022. She has denied the accusations of mortgage fraud and sued to remain in her position while litigation proceeds.

“Making unproven allegations of mortgage fraud to justify a power grab has become a pattern of the Trump Administration,” offered Cook’s attorneys, Abbe Lowell and Norm Eisen, in a statement shared with Scotsman Guide. “This decision is a victory for the rule of law and for every American who depends on a stable economy.”

Pulte also responded to the ruling on social media, writing, “As I have repeatedly said, I believe Lisa Cook will be indicted for mortgage fraud.”

Denying Trump’s request to stay a lower court decision, the five justices in the majority affirmed the statutory job protections for Fed governors and defined a “substantial threshold” for cause when firing Fed officials. The court also rejected the government’s argument that a president’s “for cause” reasoning is not up for judicial review.

“To do so would allow the President to remove a member of the Federal Reserve at any time, for any reason, without any notice before, and without any judicial check after,” wrote Roberts. “That would turn for-cause protection into little more than at-will employment.”

Government attorneys argued that prohibitions on a president’s ability to fire Fed employees violate Article II of the U.S. Constitution, which established the executive branch and its authorities relative to the coequal legislative and judicial branches of the federal government.

Conservative Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who joined the court’s three liberal justices and Roberts in the majority, filed a concurring opinion addressing the Article II debate, writing that changes to Article II must occur through the legislative process.

Two separate dissents were filed by conservative justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito.

Thomas believes the Fed should not remain an independent agency and that governors should be removable at will. Alito’s dissent maintained that the lower court ruled erroneously when it decided Cook could remain in her job as the case proceeded.